54 killed in 2 new attacks in northern Nigeria, say officials

Nigeria’s chief of defense staff Air Marshal Alex S. Badeh, second from left, and other army chiefs arrive to address the Nigerians Against Terrorism group during a demonstration calling on the government to rescue the kidnapped girls of the government secondary school in Chibok in Abuja, Nigeria, on Monday. Boko Haram, the group that abducted the girls, is suspected in two attacks that killed 54 people Monday night. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

LAGOS, Nigeria — Nigerian officials say that 54 people were killed in two attacks in northern Nigeria suspected to be by Islamic extremists.

Police constable Abdullahi Mohammed said Tuesday that suspected Boko Haram members killed 24 soldiers and 21 policemen in an attack Monday evening on Buni Yadi town in Yobe state.

And in Borno state local government official Nglamuda Ibrahim said gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram killed nine people in two remote villages, also on Monday night.

Ibrahim said that in Ashigashiya town the armed men shot at villagers, burned their homes and held control over the area and hoisted their white flags with Arabic letters.